Construction, validation and generalization of SERVSTRESS: a measure for service induced customer stress
ISSN: 0309-0566
Article publication date: 22 September 2020
Issue publication date: 4 November 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to construct and validate a generalizable scale to measure service induced perceived stress for customers of personal services with a high level of intangibles having both online and offline components.
Design/methodology/approach
Five studies were conducted to this end. The first was qualitative and the rest were quantitative (survey) with a total sample size of 1,300. The last study was conducted in a different country than the first four.
Findings
The studies resulted in a five-dimensional SERVSTRESS scale to measure service induced stress for customers with the following dimensions, namely, psychological stress; information stress; complexity stress; personnel stress and outcome stress. The scale was tested in a nomological network.
Research limitations/implications
The present study addresses a hitherto unaddressed gap in marketing literature with the construction and validation of a scale to measure service stress of a customer (named SERVSTRESS) using data from five studies spanning two countries.
Practical implications
The SERVSTRESS scale is relevant for the practitioners as it adds more value beyond the traditional service quality measures and allows the marketer to understand the nature of the stressors (with a specific focus on which is going right and which is going wrong) in the service delivery and allow him/her to take remedial actions.
Originality/value
The originality of the study is in the creation of a new scale to measure personal service stress and uncovering its underlying dimensions.
Keywords
Citation
Roy, S. and Jain, V. (2020), "Construction, validation and generalization of SERVSTRESS: a measure for service induced customer stress", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54 No. 10, pp. 2523-2550. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-01-2020-0002
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited